Four-midable Winter
by Dooblet
Summary: A fourth epilogue that brings Ace's story Four Play (NSFW) to its ultimate end. Set a couple months after the events in Four Play.


December mornings had become very windy and cold. In the city, the lazy mornings arrived earlier this month. Cats and dogs would rather spend their day sheltered from the freezing slap of late autumn, but in a small park in downtown Roseville, a Korat is defying this logic. He walks in circles and waits alone, hands together, placed in the small of his back, immersed in deep thought. There is a strong motive to be out there in the cold and this early in the morning for him. He wants to reminisce and properly welcome back the three girls who so lovingly accepted him into their lives. What should he say and how should he address them, he felt was a very important duty.

There's his unconditional lover, a girl who sacrificed her exclusive bond with him in order to please him, and he imagined it would take a lot of willpower to yield that benefit. He sometimes even wondered if he would be able to grant her that same freedom, and was constantly assured that he could not. She was the most important girl in the world His undebatable number one.

Then there's that Khao Manee who had been in unrequited love with him for the longest time. He had repressed his feelings for her by outweighing it with memories of her peculiar personality. For a long time, he was successful in keeping her out of his mind. It was only until recently that she pushed herself back into Mike's mind; by merging into his body. Mike was not very confident in his ability to repress that memory. Not very confident at all, but the nice memories had been a window of opportunity for him to re-discover her. She seemed more and more fun to be with as the phone calls increased.

Finally, there's that girl who fell in love with him by chance. Boy, how to begin to explain that relationship. The way Mike saw it, his relationship with her began with the most sincere and innocent sense of admiration for one another's hardships. It was also a very singular spin of the fate wheel that allowed them to meet for the first time so long ago at the batting cages. When he saw her again, earlier in the year, he could hardly believe how beautiful she had become. Athletics had shaped her well, she grew taller and filled a fuller body. Her silver hair was really soft and silky too, and...

Mike shook his head, thoughts still percolating in his mind. He decided to sort the scattered thoughts as if filing the books of an enormous library and continued to wait.

* * *

She said to herself she was not in any hurry, but minutes after leaving her house, she found herself trotting lightly. She blamed her rush on the weather, her hair undulating in the chilly breeze that prevailed through the first hours of the last Sunday of the month. She had never had any particular motivation to play dress up for a date, but she had noticed in her routine that she had tried a couple of things differently. A good example was the bandanna that she routinely wrapped around her neck, now shaped as a green bow that hung at about a quarter length from the top of her hairline. She could not quite explain the change, and thus merely dismissed the thought as a simple and whimsical wardrobe choice. She continued to skip through the sidewalk, turning corners and carefully looking at both sides of the street before crossing. Her heart was almost bursting inside of her and she would not give all of the credit to the light exercise. The racing flow of her blood and her determination would not let her faint until she reached her goal.

"Just let me get to the park." she internalized, "Just let this day end the way I dreamed it."

She brought her hands close to her chest rubbing the index and thumb of her right hand in the fabric of her pink turtleneck sweater. Her feet continued to sweep past the streets.

* * *

Lucy wanted to play it cool. She wanted to let the other two have a head start and make their way to Mike first. She didn't particularly mind. It was not a race or a competition or anything. She had been speaking confidently with Mike about how she was _definitely _over him. Yet, she had proposed that they meet again in the first chance that everyone's schedules had a particular opening. For some reason, Mike always represented a significant part of her own peace of mind. She could relax around that jerk, even though they went through so much drama in high school.

And she had high hopes that the chance to meet came soon enough. Much to her fortune, the opportunity showed in little over a couple of months after they had all gone their different ways..

She wore a long, comfortable overcoat that hung loose on her shoulders and a pair of jeans that hugged her legs snugly. The outfit made her body unnecessarily hotter than usual, but she figured that the other girls would want to look their best today. Her competitive spirit had remained impervious all these years.

She also wanted to be _very _safe

She stepped into the street and she was grateful that her streak of good luck had not run out, for the weather was cold and it contrasted her feverish outfit really well.. She just could not think of anything that would ruin this day. Truly a day to be enjoyed.

* * *

She tiptoed, trying very hard not to make any noise. In her hands she carried a long, white piece of fabric as she inched close to her target. They were all alone in the center of that small, downtown park. Her stealth was outstanding. Once she felt confident she was close enough to make a move, she wrapped her arms around his neck on a short notice. Then, with a series of flourishes, she twirled the fabric of the scarf in her hands around Mike's neck. The technique was swift, elegant, and delicate.

Mike flailed his arms a little, gasping in surprise. He managed to grasp one of her arms with one hand, while putting his other around the newly brandished scarf. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before slowly turning to look at her. Mike's eyes met Sandy's, and they gazed at each other in silent fascination. Mike had had his share of those eyes for some years now, but the novelty of staring into them had not gone away. As for Sandy, well, even after all of those years, she still couldn't help smiling at the face he made every time they met. Moving her free hand forward she took the one around Mike's neck and gave it a squeeze. Neither would release their grasp, and neither wanted to.

"It hasn't been very long, and yet.." Mike's green eyes were settled on her onyx-like gray eyes as he spoke the words. Sandy gave a small laugh as she looked away for an instant, her cheeks tinted with a light pink in the cold afternoon.

"Oh, well you're going to have to get used to seeing me everyday eventually."

Their eyes locked again, sharing ferociously loving gazes. There was something in the intensity of Sandy's eyes that made Mike's heart race.

"How do you like your present?" She broke through Mike's daydream.

"Ah! it's really pretty and silky" He said as he took a moment to run his fingers through the fabric, feeling the texture. He suddenly looked startled and took up her waiting hand again. "I should have brought you a present! I should have brought a present to everyone. Oh God...!"

Sandy shook her head "No, no, please its fine Maishul. The reason we all agreed to come was because we were all going to relax and have a fine time." she said with a reassuring tone. "It's no good if you stress over this."

Mike slowly eased up over the idea. Sandy presented him a very strong case, but of course, Sandy's theory only held up if the other two didn't bring presents for him.

And she couldn't help but hope they didn't, selfish as it was however. Shaking her head to dispel the thoughts, she sat him down on the bench and the two waited in silence as the wind whistled and stripped whatever trace of Fall there was left in the trees. Fortunately for the couple, it was not a long wait before the next member approached in the distance.

* * *

Jasmine saw the two from afar and waved both of her hands at them as her legs plodded on ferociously. Her body was really warm from all the exercise, but her stamina was far from depleted. She easily cleared a small fence with a swift jump and zoomed past a flight of steps, three at a time. She even took a shortcut through the grass, ignoring the sign that clearly said not to step on it.

She slowed down a little as she came upon the two and placed her hands on her knees and tried to catch her breath. Mike took this chance to look at Sandy and something passed between the two silently, causing Sandy's mouth curve into a barely noticeable smile.

When Jasmine felt her energy replenish, she took the opportunity to lift her eyes from the floor, and lock them on Mike and Sandy.

"Did you run all the way here?" Sandy asked, genuinely concerned.

"Huh? Oh, no, no!..." Jasmine replied as she rubbed some sweat off her forehead "only the last stretch."

She secretly wanted to be the first to arrive but of course, she would not openly admit to it.

Jasmine straightened back up, chest still heaving, but overall she was much more composed. She placed her right hand on her chest and her left hand on her wrist, doing her best to stay still. She tried to keep a calm look, but deep down in herself, she was a bit terrified.

All the memories of their unbelievable first sexual encounter played over and over in her head; she re-lived all of the sinful connotations of that night when Mike took it upon himself to please her. The events were beyond what she had ever expected, and yet, she had felt so happy. Was she wrong to feel so happy? The thought flitted in her mind before she suddenly began to feel empty. When Mike swore to be there for her when she needed him that dark night in the batting cages she had hoped time would stop. But she knew it wouldn't last, nothing gold ever did.

"Are you just going to stand there, Jazzie?" She was startled back to reality when she realized Mike had extended his arm to touch her lightly on the shoulder.

Only Paulo had called her Jazzie before, but in the days that followed their secret meeting at the batting cages, Mike had begun to use that nickname, too. Her eyes lit up and a wide smile decorated her face as she looked at him, and Mike was obviously fascinated by her expression as it became contagious and he smiled in return. She moved towards Mike then, and embraced his arm before she rested her head against his body.

Lucy had been eating some peppermint candies. She noticed there had been another spike in her craving for them lately. Looking up, she saw the liveliness had started to overtake the park that morning, but she was in no hurry to join them as Jasmine was. It's not like they would vanish or anything. Sure she was happy, but she wouldn't run. But despite her pace, she was able to sneak up on the party without being noticed, as they were currently engaged in Jasmine's bubbliness.

"Hey Jerkface". Despite the choice of words, her voice was delicate and non-threatening. Before he could respond, her hands aimed at his shoulders and she rested them there as her body leaned forward..

"Lucy!" Shouted the three, startled at her entrance.

She merely began to work her tiny hands to massage his shoulders and neck, a gesture Mike thought he could get used to. Smiling, Mike said "It's good to see you!"

"You're so cheesy!" Lucy replied as she leaned forward further and nuzzled at his hair. Mike could feel the warmth of her body, but he failed to notice how her augmented bust tapped at his back. Even if he did, he wouldn't say anything in front of the other two. That would be a little rude!

* * *

Sandy coughed before giving her largest smile. "Now that we are all here, why don't we all give Mike a big hug?"

Jasmine's eyes widened in delight and her hold of Mike's hand became a squeeze. Lucy chuckled at the absurdity of Mike's girlfriend asking two other women to be so close to him, but she wouldn't dare refuse. A thought came to her then.

"I have a better idea! Let's see which one of us can keep Mike the warmest in this weather!" She proposed.

It was now Sandy's time to look bit surprised, and Mike frowned a little as Sandy and Jasmine stared at Lucy a little incredulously.

"Lucy, I don't think Sandy and Jasmine would..." but Mike was swiftly interrupted by those very two, with timing that could only indicate a synch in thoughts.

"I'm game!"

"I'll try it, too."

Mike stuttered nervously as his gaze swept between the three girls. Their looks were determined in their own ways, and he desperately wanted to figure out what they were thinking, taking on Lucy's little game. He wondered what it mean for him. But more importantly, what did it mean for the three of them?

"On three, now!" Lucy said, arms ready.

Mike sensed the tension in the three bodies around him.

"One!"

Jasmine took her free hand and wrapped it around his arm like a spring vine. Sandy mimicked the gesture on Mike's opposite arm.

"Twoooo!"

The bodies drew instinctively closer, and Mike's ear twitched uncontrollably, a reaction of Lucy's minty breath shooting onto the back of his head.

"THREE!"

Mike kicked his legs in search of balance as he felt himself being pulled in three different directions. Jasmine hugged him firmly, the fabric of her pink turtleneck sweater melding with his arm, while Lucy rubbed her cheek on the back of his neck and massaged his shoulders with her hands. For Sandy, she gave him multiple small kisses on the cheek. The approaches to keep him warm were so distinct to each girl, it made him crack into a small fit of laughter.

Mike's laughter soon became contagious and Sandy, Jasmine and Lucy smiled and laughed as the game continued.

_How great it would be to make all of them happy. _Mike thought as he laughed.

He had done so before, right?

As the girl's struggle played out around him, Mike warmed on the idea for a moment. If he tried, and they all wished for this, couldn't it be done? It was something the public would frown upon, no doubt, but he wasn't trying to please anyone other than these three lovely girls.

_Surely that would be alright?_

Elated by the variety of sensations, Mike allowed the game to go on until he felt satisfied and felt like the game should be over. He leaned his head back and nuzzled Lucy's cheek with his own. The gesture was received with extreme surprise by Lucy who could only stare into his green eyes before she looked away, blushing fiercely and stopping altogether.

Smirking, Mike gently pulled away from Jasmine, who was attached to his arm. She had been concentrating on all of the memories she had been creating with Mike over the months that she didn't even notice at first, her mind lost in the past and her own fantasies for the future. When it finally got through to her she opened her eyes, her face a bright red hue. Reluctantly she inched back from his body, and released a heavy, loving sigh.

Sandy had noticed Mike's intentions and came to a stop by her own means, although her hand still lingered on Mike's arm. He turned to face her and then took the initiative by carefully taking hold of her chin with his hand, and drawing her forward to kiss her

Jasmine silently coveted the approach while Lucy simply smiled and shook her head..

Lucy coughed loudly to break the two up, and both looked at her, with a hint of pouting. She just rolled her eyes and asked

"So, who's the winner?"

When Mike was in high school he would have been angered at her pushiness, but today, he could not help but enjoy the situation. He took a long looking at the three of them in turn, giving the impression of judging them closely, but he had made a decision earlier in the game. He was very happy to see, as he stared into those onyx, sapphire, and emerald eyes, that the three were hoping to be the undisputed victors. Whether they would be satisfied with the verdict or not, well, he'd have to worry about that some other time. The tension around him mounted visibly as he pretended to ponder his choice. Then, with a helpless smile on his face, he shrugged and exclaimed:

"It's a four-way tie!"

He just lifted his eyes to the sky as the girls complained around him.


End file.
